There's no question, veterans deserve quality medical care. Sadly, what is questionable is whether they are actually receiving proper care — particularly in treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee, led by Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Akaka, held a hearing on Capitol Hill last week on complaints about altering diagnoses to cut costs.

At issue was an e-mail from Veterans Affairs physician Norma Perez: "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that we refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out. Consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder R/O PTSD." R/O means "rule out."

The e-mail adds: "We really don't or have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."

Perez said she was referring to initial appointments at a walk-in center. Even so, Dr. James Peake, secretary of veterans affairs, called Perez's suggestion "inappropriate."

Issuing a diagnosis based on compensation is not only wrong, it's unconscionable.

There is some good news. A bill cleared the Senate last week that calls for sweeping changes in how the VA handles mental healthcare. In part, it mandates a full review of the VA's residential mental health facilities; requires the VA to improve treatment of veterans with multiple disorders; and authorizes a special committee on PTSD to continue its work through 2012.

Since 2003, nearly 40,000 military personnel have been diagnosed with PTSD, Pentagon records show. Thousands more are thought to have sought help from private physicians, for fear that it may hurt their military careers.

And as Time magazine reports, for the first time, a sizeable and growing number of combat troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are now relying daily on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs.

With more cases on the horizon, marked by rising suicide rates among veterans, it's imperative we live up to the promise of proper healthcare for those who put their lives on the line for our freedom.